Saturday, July 4, 2009

Your First Look: Madonna in Givenchy

In case buckets of money weren't enough, another excellent reason to never stop touring is the steady stream of free clothes designed for and foisted upon you. For the launch tonight of her extended Sticky & Sweet tour, already the top-grossing tour in history by a solo artist, Madonna wore this couture Givenchy cropped jacket-dress with matching vest. Naturally it's custom-designed by Riccardo Tisci, which means you can't have one, at least not by Givenchy, but you can ponder if this means Madge will appear in a Givenchy ad—in fishnets and contortions, no doubt...

Thursday, July 3, 2008

Alexis Mabille Takes Another Bow

and Rebecca Voight is tongue-tied...

Alexis Mabille, he of the wacky bow ties, is officially the Bright Young Thing of Paris couture, so anointed by style.com's Sarah Mower. She didn't write about his collection when it made its debut at the spring couture last January. (Click here for Hint's coverage.) But Mabille mania has gained steam since. Bzzzzzz. Luckily, the International Herald Tribune's Suzy Menkes and Women's Wear Daily have been on to this upstart from day one.

Mabille said he was inspired by his dream of the ideal co-ed academy, but those expecting mad schoolgirls and boys were surprised. Elegance prevailed. And despite his penchant for delirious accessories, he's turning out to be a refreshingly clean and simple designer when it comes to womenswear. For men, it's another story. If Little Lord Fauntleroy were alive today, he'd be thrilled with those curvy suits and jackets in Easter yellow and baby blue. But this is a look very few men can pull off.

Mabille turned dress shirts into evening columns in black with a white piqué bib-front. And he made a simply scandalous statement with a silk sheath that turned out to be nothing but nude tulle in the back. The most beautiful piece of flesh-tone embroidered silk was left to speak for itself in a simple shell top. Ditto the embroidered pants covered with embroidered tropical flowers. Several dresses with box-pleat skirts in odd pinks and royal blue looked intriguingly off-kilter, and he had fun with lace in peek-a-boo undersea blue. All these simple pieces were a great backdrop to accessories like satin pumps with matching bows running up the back and silver belts that looked like they'd been made from grandmother's dismantled tea set.